The best budget CPU coolers, and when the cheap one is enough
Budget CPU coolers that fit: a dual tower for most builds, a slim single tower, and a short 100 mm cooler for small cases and older boards, with socket checks.
Delidded: CPU mods, cooling and old PCs that still earn their keep
The LGA 771 to 775 Xeon mod
Run a 45 nm Xeon in a Core 2 board: what the adapter sticker does, which chipsets cope, and how to get through the BIOS side. Five pages, in order:
Latest builds
How to flash a BIOS safely, on old and new boards
How to flash a BIOS without bricking the board: when to update, matching the exact model, backups, which flasher to use, steady power and a recovery plan.
Reading Xeon sSpec codes before you buy a used chip
How to read the etched lines on a used LGA 771 Xeon from a listing photo, tell C0 from E0, spot qualification samples, and what to ask the seller first.
Choosing a CPU air cooler: towers, low-profile and what the numbers mean
How to choose a CPU air cooler: towers, top-down and low-profile designs, heat pipes, fins and fans, noise figures, socket mounts, clearance and when an AIO fits.
CPU coolers that still fit LGA 775
LGA 775 uses 72 mm hole spacing, not the 75 mm of later Intel sockets. How to read socket lists, push pins versus backplates, and height and RAM clearance.
Best thermal paste for a CPU: how to choose, and four sensible picks
The best thermal paste for a CPU is non-conductive, needs no curing and comes in a sensible tube. How to read specs, four picks by use and a liquid metal warning.
BIOS, microcode and CPU lists
LGA 771 Xeon microcode
Why a desktop BIOS may not know your Xeon, and what to add.
Microcode in an AMI BIOS
Patching an AMIBIOS 8 image and flashing it back safely.
Microcode in an Award or Phoenix BIOS
The same job for Award and Phoenix-Award boards.
LGA 771 and 775 CPU list
Every quad-core chip of both sockets in one table.
Does my board support this CPU?
Model, revision, support list, BIOS version: the order that works.
CPUID, stepping and sSpec
Read the codes that decide which microcode your chip needs.
Modkit calculators
LGA 771 compatibility checker
Pick a Xeon and your chipset, get a pass or check strip.
FSB overclock calculator
Core clock, bus rating and memory speed from FSB and ratio.
Cooler TDP headroom
Estimate overclocked heat against a cooler rating.
PC power supply calculator
Add up an old build and pick a sensible supply size.
Parts bin picks
Parts links can earn us a commission.
- Clone
Macrium Reflect X Home (disk imaging and cloning)
Clones an old hard drive to a new SSD and keeps image backups; paid software for Windows.
Order from Macrium Software
Web design notes
Beginner lessons with code you can paste and run: the CSS tutorial (two small projects), the JavaScript tutorial and an online HTML editor to try them in.